Page 101

“You’ve never cut this,” Julia murmured.

“No. I was frightened it wouldn’t grow back,” I replied.

“Yet somehow it does. And at a normal speed as well. How strange is that? We don’t age, our nails don’t grow, Vam’pirs don’t lose the shape we died in, yet our hair can still grow. Do you know scientists say hair is dead? Amazing creations, Vam’piric bodies.”

“That’s one word for it.”

Julia chuckled. “If you were mortal, you would have been mine with that body of yours.”

“Why, thank you, milady,” I parroted something that I’d said to Julia years ago, and we broke into fresh laughter.

Over the years, we’d become exceptionally close, and Julia was one of the very few I would trust with my life.

“Not sure why Inka—”

“Don’t even go there, Julia,” I snapped.

Most of my good humour vanished as I briefly wondered about my now ex-wife. Well, what was there to think about? Inkanever saw me after Egypt. She stuck to her guns despite Nathan telling them the truth. I’m unsure if Inka had used Egypt as a reason to free herself from me. Centuries passed before I got a grip and finally quelled the raging love I once had for Inka. No longer did Inka’s desires rule my heart.

With struggle, I changed my train of thought.

“These vampire vermin are getting worse.”

Julia asked, “How so?” while turning to rest her head on my stomach.

“Well, they are not being trained to use all their senses for one thing.”

“That makes it easier for us to get rid of them, doesn’t it?”

“Sure, but I’m looking for a genuine challenge. These creatures are also weaker. Most of them I staked tonight instantly turned to dust. The bodies didn’t last beyond a mere second or two. There’s no effort needed to kill them. Which makes a boring hunt.”

“The lineage must have been weakened somewhere, or else they have a weak Master,” Julia commented.

I chewed on that for a minute. It was the Vam’pir view that the curse was also a gift, and it shouldn’t be given out willy-nilly to anyone and everyone. When we came across vampires that did not deserve it, we killed them outright. In a way, Vam’pirs had become vampire hunters. Most of the vampires in history had needed murdering.

That meant staking them through the heart. This was a surefire way to ensure they stayed dead and turned to dust. But tonight’s ones had just turned to dust almost immediately. Usually, the bodies lasted a minute or two. That meant the vampire who’d turned them was from a much-diluted bloodline.

Although there were twenty-four first born, other Vam’pirs had been created. Mihal, Kit, Rahmon, Christa. They had blooddirectly from a Vam’pir, which made them almost as strong as a firstborn.

“Several of the others have discovered the same. Vampires are just breeding for the sake of it. The lineages are getting so diverse as the blood is passed from one to another that they are weakening. If they drank from a Vam’pir or a Master Vampire, they’d be stronger. But this infestation is not coming from an older being, so they are essentially weak,” Julia continued.

“That makes the job easier. A true Master Vampire is one who has lived for at least two thousand years. There aren’t that many about, say, a hundred in total, and so the line gets weaker unless they drink directly from a master,” I replied.

“That’s right. This Master must only be a few hundred years old as his vein is poor and not strong. Well, not enough to fight one of us.”

“Guess it doesn’t really matter as long as the vermin die,” I replied, kissing the tip of Julia’s nose.

Lazily, I rose to leave, and as I reached the door, Julia asked over her shoulder, “And just how is it going with Lady Caroline?”

“As good as it could be!” I answered, laughing, and left Julia’s house.

Luckily, it was only round the corner from mine, and I took a slow stroll. As I reached my door, I felt someone watching. Spinning quickly, I failed to catch anyone.

I frowned and extended my senses, but whoever it was had fled. Sighing, I let myself in. Marks met me as I entered my study.

“Sir, this was delivered.” Marks held out a note and left.

Unfussed, I walked over to the fire and opened the letter, breaking the wax seal on it. It was blood red, I noticed absently.